Trolley-hanger



W.. SCHAAKE. I

TROLLEY HANGER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1. 1911.

1,401,650. Patented Dec. 27, 1921 2 SHEETS-SHEET l. l

WITNESSES INVENTQR I BY ' ATTORNEY W. SCHAAKE.

.TROLLEY HANGER.

APPLICATION FILED MAYT. 1917.

' 1,401, 50, Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 WITNESSES I INVENTOR W/'///'a m 5cfi 4/fe:

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

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Application filed May 7, 1917. Serial no. 167,099.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it. known that LlVrLLrAM SCHAAKE, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Trolley-Hangers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to trolley-wire hangers and particularly to hangersfor support.- ing a plurality of trolley wires disposed in side-by-siderelation.

The object of my invention is to provide a hanger of theabove-designated class that shall have improved operatingcharacteristics and shall embody an improved form of trolley wireclamping aws.

Heretofore, it has been proposed to support adjacent trolley wires froma common messenger cable by using separate hangers for each wire. I

I propose to connect adjacent clamping jaws for the respective wires andto suspend this structure from a central point in such manner that theweight of each trolley wire will counterbalance that of the adjacenttrolley wire and thus provide a structure in which a slight difi'erenceof pressure from the current-collecting shoe shall move the wires to thesame level and, therefore, improve the collection of current from suchwires.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is a side elevational view, withone member of one of the trolley-wire clamps removed, of trolley-wirehanger constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is an endelevantional view of the hanger shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an endelevational view of a slightly modified form of hanger; Fig. 4: is aside elevational view or the device shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a topplan view of the hanger shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is an end elevationalview of a modified form of trolleywire hanger; Fig. 7 is a top plan viewof the hanger shown in Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is an end elevational view of afurther modification of my invention; and Fig. 9 is a side elevationalview, with parts removed, of the device shown in Fig. 8.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, a plurality of trolley wires 1are supported from a messenger cable 2 by a plurality of trolley-Wireclamps 3 and 1 that are connected together by a one piece hanger rod.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 27, 1 192 1 5. The trolley wires. 1 are of usual; form andare. disposed in side-by-side'. relation; Each of the" trolley wireclamps and at comprlsesmembers 6 and 7 that cl'am p the trolley wire 1between them. The member 6 is provided with a projection 83 whichengages a depression 9 of the member 7 in order to maintain the member'sin proper cooperative relation. Each of the members 6 and 7 is providedwith a recess 10' in which a looped end 11 of the hanger rod 5 islocated. A bolt 12 extends through the members 6 and 7 and the loop 11and serves to secure the members 6 and 7 rigidly together.

The modified structure illustrated Fig. 3, Fig. 4 and F ig. 5 isprovided with an additional supporting rod 13 that extends'from the rod5 to the messenger cable 2. The added utility of such a device arisesfrom the fact that the center of support for the structure ismateriallylowered by employing this additional arm.

Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 show a modification of my device in which thelowerportion-s of the trolley clamps are offset from their customarypositions. This arrangement permits the trolley wires 1 to be broughtinto closer relation and also enables a shorter length of rod 5 to beused for connecting thetrolley-wire clampsB and 4.

A further modification is illustrated in Fig. 8 in which a central plate14: is apertured to receive the loop 11 of the hanger rod 5, and sideplates 15 and 16 are interlocked with the central plate and are disposedupon its sides. The trolley wires 1 are clamped between the centralplate 14 and the side plates 15 and 16 by the bolt 12 which extendsthrough the several plates and also through the loop 11 of the rod 5.

By connecting adjacent trolley wire clamps and supporting the structurefrom a point substantially midway between them, the weights of thetrolley wires counter-balance each other, thus providing a structurewhich will readily accommodate itself to an equal distribution ofcontact pressure between the trolley wires. If, for instance, a pressureis applied to the right-hand trolley wire only, it will tend to rise inposition until the left hand wire is also supported with a substantially equal contact pressure. This ensures a substantially equalelectrical conduction from the wires and precludes the dangers arisingfrom unequally positioned wires in which only one of the wires suppliesenergy to the moving vehicle.

Although I have described my invention in a few of its simplest and mostpreferred forms, I desire that it should only be limited by the spiritand scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a plurality of parallel conductors, of a singlehanger structure therefor comprising means cooperating with theconductors at positions offset along the conductors.

2. The combination with a plurality of parallel conductors, of a singlehanger structure therefor constructed to permit a current-collectingdevice to pass the same continuously in contact with a conductor that isunsupported opposite the point of contact.

8. The combination with a plurality of parallel conductors forsimultaneous co operation with a single movable trolleycarrying device,of a single hanger structure having means cooperating with eachconductor and constructed to permit relative movement of the conductors.

4. The combination with a plurality of parallel trolley conductors, of asingle hanger structure therefor comprising a clamp for each conductor,said clamps being offset along the conductors with respect to the otherclamps to permit the conductors to lie close together, and means forjoining said clamps.

5. The combination with a plurality of parallel trolley conductors, of asingle hanger structure therefor comprising a clamp for each conductor,said clamps being offset along the conductors withrespect to lateness)each other to permit the conductors to be a substantially minimumdistance apart, and yieldable means for joining the clamps andpermitting the automatic adjustment of the conductors with respect topassing trolleys.

6. The combination with a plurality of side-by-side trolley conductors,of clamps for supporting said conductors, each of said clamps havingoppositely-offset lower por tions, and a rod connected to said clampsand adapted to support the same.

7. The combination with a plurality of parallel trolley conductors, of asingle hanger structure therefor comprising means for gripping theseveral conductors at positions displaced with respect to each otheralong the conductors and permitting relative movement of the conductorsto elfect good contact engagement with passing trolleys.

8. The combination with a plurality of parallel trolley conductors and amessenger cable therefor, of a single hanger structure comprising meansfor gripping the several conductors at positions offset with respect toeach other along the conductors, and means for flexibly connecting saidgripping means to each other and to the messenger cable. 7

9. A hanger for supporting trolley conductors in side-by-side relation,comprising a plurality of rigidly-connected jaw mem bers between whichsaid conductors are clamped and a hanger rod having a loop and socketconnection with said jaw members.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subszcribed my name this 26th dayof April, 191

WILLIAM SCHAAKE.

